The Queen's Statue on Birdcage Walk Green

1st November 2016

The idea of creating a statue portraying Her Majesty The Queen was originally conceived by Rachel Hood (the former Mayor of Newmarket), Justin Wadham and John Warren. It has been planned by a committee of local residents and will celebrate Her Majesty's 90th birthday and her special relationship with the people of Newmarket and the thoroughbred horse. The Queen's Statue will be unveiled by Her Majesty The Queen on the morning of November 3rd, 2016.

The bronze statue is situated at the gateway to Newmarket on the green of Birdcage Walk. Her Majesty The Queen is depicted in 1977, the year of her Silver Jubilee. Cast in bronze and set on a plinth of Portland Stone, the statue portrays Her Majesty with a mare and foal, at 120% life size.

Her Majesty The Queen was sculpted by Etienne Millner and cast at the Bronze Age Sculpture Foundry. Etienne is a Fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors and Past President of the Society of Portrait Sculptors.

Etienne Millner says:

“The aim was for a timeless and enduring image of Her Majesty The Queen in a private moment with a mare and foal by Charlie Langton. The pose was inspired by stills of the Queen I had seen from a film called The Queen’s Racehorses made by Peter O’ Sullivan in 1974 at the time of her Silver Jubilee. It is the longest interview The Queen has ever done and she is taking about one of her greatest interests - her racehorses.

I had not met The Queen prior to this commission and so, like most people, my knowledge of her was from coins, newspapers and television. Therefore the public, regal and glamorous image of The Queen was known to me but less so how she might interact with horses. The challenge in this commission was to combine the private passion with the public persona. It was a huge honour to be asked to sculpt Her Majesty and I enjoyed every aspect of it.”
The mare and foal were sculpted by Charlie Langton. They were cast at the Sculpture Casting Foundry

Charlie Langton says:

"It has been the honour of my career to have been involved in this momentous project. The Queen does so much for horse racing and breeding. The sport is incredible lucky to have Her so involved, not out of duty but out of genuine love and passion for the thoroughbred horse. I think that this project represents the feeling of immense gratitude that everyone in horse racing and breeding feels towards The Queen's life time association with the sport. To have been asked to sculpt the bronze 20% over life size Mare and Foal on behalf of the Newmarket Commemoration Committee has been a huge privilege and I have loved every minute of this work. For the last 18 months I've been entirely focused on capturing the figures and composition correctly. I have particularly enjoyed spending time observing foals at studs. I am hugely grateful to John Warren and all of the committee members for their support and faith in me. It has been a great pleasure to work alongside Etienne, who has done a fantastic portrait of Her Majesty. For my part, I hope that I have managed to create a work of equine sculpture that appropriately reflects The Queen's love of the thoroughbred."

The project was only made possible by the support and generosity of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai. Conceived and planned by the Newmarket Commemoration Committee, the statue has been gifted to the National Heritage Centre at Palace House and will be maintained by Newmarket Town Council and Barcham Trees.

The Queen's Statue will be available for members of the public to enjoy after the official unveiling on the morning of 3rd November.